Hi-Watt T40 Combo

It's a Thursday afternoon and I look out of my office window here at Sound on Stage (www.soundonstage.com.au) and what do I see? A brown cardboard box! Hmm. The distinctive HIWATT logo gives it away. This'll be the T40 combo then! I lean down to brace myself to carry it into the office and it's not too bad! Probably about the same weight as a high-gain head.

So into the office it comes and in plugs the Strat. This classic British amp company has been around for a few years now, with everyone from Noel Gallagher, The Killers, U2 and even Take That … ahem yup that's right, Take That, becoming synonymous with the brand.

It's a pretty sturdy little number, more of your Russian farmer girl, short and wide, built for ploughing the fields, rather than the Sports Illustrated model, but definitely with the curves in the right places. It's built well, with a definite classic vintage feel.

The Fane speakers that come as standard have also been around for a good 50 years or so and were the first ever speaker to be rated for 100 watts, keeping up with demands of the manufacturers in the '60s.

So how does it sound? Well, if you want a Jazz Chorus, buy a Jazz Chorus; this is a little rougher round the edges but still clear as a bell, and the dirty side is tight and rich and with very little preamp distortion, the grunt really coming from those tubes. Channel one really will give you that gorgeous blues tone and switching to two with the button on the front or the separate footswitch (sold separately) will have you crunching away for hours with glee. It's a definite contender for the regular player who actually has a gig most nights of the week but no roadies to lug gear around; not too big and won't tax the back too much.

You can dial in a tone pretty quickly and I really like having separate gain controls for both channels, although EQ is shared for both. The fact you can switch between 40 and 20 watts is a bonus for those who need to practice at home while mother is still watching Housewives Of Beverly Hills, or the girlfriend is one step away from making sure you wear odd socks to work, but at the same time this little bad boy will keep up with the rest of your gang when you're out there at Rooty Hill RSL delving into your vast repertoire of AC/DC numbers.

All in all, it's a pretty versatile amp. If you're using foot switches or a pedal board you'll get what you need from this without too much messing around. It's not a true high-gain amp by today's standards but it's good. I can't say I've used HIWATT before but by all accounts it still captures a little of the classic HIWATT sound.

When it comes to the crunch, this amp has some breeding and it's from a respectable pedigree. The price is spot on and for what you get, I'd be hard pressed to fault it. It's a quality amp, with three-tone EQ, push-pull mid frequency control and great construction. The only thing missing is a footswitch!